Gwen Richardson is co-founder of
Cushcity.com, the world's largest African-American Internet
retailer with over 20,000 products online. Richardson and her
husband, Willie, established Cushcity.com in 1998. The web site
receives more than 2 million hits per month and has thousands of
customers in all 50 states and internationally. Richardson has
been a writer for most of her life. Prior to establishing
Cushcity, she and Willie published a national public affairs
magazine, Headway, and she served as the publication's
editor. She was a monthly columnist for USA Today from 1996 to
1999, and her commentaries have also been published in several
daily newspapers, including the Houston Chronicle, Atlanta
Constitution and Philadelphia Inquirer. Richardson, who resides
in Houston with Willie and their daughter, Sylvia, is a graduate
of Georgetown University with a B.S. degree in marketing. She
has been an entrepreneur for more than 20 years.

Gwen Richardson Talks about the Annual National Black Book Festival (May 17, 2008)

We have all read headlines featuring a fortunate college-bound student
who has received $100,000 or more in scholarship awards. Assuming that the
scholarships were renewable annually, this amount could easily pay for four
years of college at any American college or university. However, these
success stories are the exception, not the rule. They are aberrations among
the pool of millions of aspiring college students who submit scholarship
applications to the hundreds of companies, foundations and non-profit groups
that offer them. The reality is a much different, and sobering, picture.

According to the 2014 edition of Peterson’s Scholarships, Grants and Prizes,
nearly every student who earns a four-year degree graduates with student
loan debt, which currently averages about $23,300. 101 Scholarship
Applications: What It Takes to Obtain a Debt-Free College Education was
written specifically to address the issue of college loan debt, and help
students and their parents identify scholarship opportunities, as well as
develop strategies for submitting applications and winning awards.

This book’s author, Gwen Richardson, is a parent who spent nearly two years
carefully researching scholarship sources for her teenage daughter, who
entered college debt-free as a freshman. The highlight of this book is a
comprehensive listing of more than 200 scholarship sources, including award
amounts, eligibility requirements and direct web site links. All sources
have been vetted and researched for accuracy.

In 2004, Gallup polls showed that 42 percent of Americans supported gay
marriage. Eight years later, by the end of 2012, support had jumped to 53
percent. Public opinion seemed to change at a rapid pace, almost overnight.
How did it shift so quickly? The answer is: the media. In the same way that
a small cadre of enthusiastic supporters in the amen corner of a church
agrees with the preacher’s every utterance from the pulpit, the media have
been consistent champions for gay marriage and
lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender (LGBT) causes. Through a carefully
orchestrated system of selective reporting, slanted coverage and rewards and
punishments, national media have gradually nudged public opinion in the
direction of approval of gay marriage. Amen Corner: How the National Media
Shaped Public Opinion on Gay Marriage examines the methods used by the media
to promote gay marriage over the past 20 years, the effects of its promotion
on the public discourse, and a plan of action consumers can utilize to be
better informed as the debate on this important issue moves forward.

Recent changes in the book industry have afforded new authors the
opportunity to self-publish with relative ease. Yet, for newcomers to the
industry, publishing a book is still a daunting task. Write It Right:
The Guide to Self-Publishing Your Best Book provides both aspiring and
seasoned authors with a road map to success. The following questions are
answered in the book:

What are ten great reasons to self-publish?

What are ten of the greatest challenges to self-publishing?

What is the primary reason you are writing your book?

How do you determine your book’s topic or subject matter?

What is the target audience for your book?

What is the current state of the book industry?

What are the elements of a best-selling novel?

How does a self-published author obtain a copyright and ISBN?

What are some of the most cost-effective marketing strategies?

How does a self-published author take advantage of social media?

What are some of the costly, time-consuming mistakes authors should
avoid?

What are some of the future book publishing trends on the horizon?

If you are planning to self-publish, Write It Right includes the
comprehensive information that will help you succeed.

Lloyd Palmer is a reporter for the Houston Ledger, a job which should
have fulfilled his lifelong dream of being a journalist. But, along with
being exhausted from the daily coverage of murders and mayhem in the
nation’s fourth largest city, he’s hit a glass ceiling at work, and his
editor, Ed Jackson, goes out of his way to make Lloyd’s life miserable.

While interviewing potential witnesses to a murder-suicide at a Houston
high-rise, Lloyd meets a mysterious stranger who subsequently leads him down
a path which changes his life. But Lloyd’s journey is fraught with peril, as
both he and his family barely escape a hired assassin.

Follow Lloyd Palmer on his quest for the ultimate truth in the provocative
thriller, The Genesis Files.

Have you ever wondered why, despite decades of economic
development, civil rights legislation and welfare programs, the
economic status of African Americans always seems to lag behind
nearly every other group? Why do members of other ethnic groups
come to America from other countries and, within a few years,
own most of the businesses in the Black community and, at the
same time, treat Blacks with utter contempt? Even when a few
African Americans experience economic success, such as
entertainers and athletes, why is it that so many of them end up
penniless after generating millions of dollars in wealth for
others? For years, the author pondered these same questions. Her
research and quest for answers has led to eye-opening
revelations about the fabric of American society and the fate of
the African-American community. Why African Americans Can't
Get Ahead is a breakthrough book which not only defines the
challenges, but presents cutting-edge solutions to these
challenges with a group economics approach.